Olah show at the Pongfinity Cup
Benedek Olah has dominated Finnish table tennis for 15 years and really got excited at the Pongfinity Cup organized by the MBF. Olah beat his national teammate Alex Naum in the final with clear numbers 3-1.
Olah has 12 Finnish singles championship gold medals – and there could be more in the trophy cabinet, as the Budapest native from Seinäjoki has not participated in our country's championships in the last two years.
The game skills are still intact, as there was no doubt about the winner in the final after the first two sets. 35-year-old Olah took home the 1.000 euro prize check with clear scores of 11-7, 5-11, 11-3, 11-3.
They always cheer against me., said Olah, who is used to the fact that in anticipation the underdog usually wins the audience over. A twinkle in the corner of his eye, as Olah clearly enjoyed the opportunity to show off his skills.
The showmanship was particularly evident when Olah played against the Pongfinity trio “Sensei” in the semifinals. Otto “Sensei” Tennilä has found a tough game in the spring season. In the semifinals, Tennilä knocked down national team player Aleksi Räsänen and then put the winner on the line. Tennilä and Olah put on a thriller-like match, in which “Sensei” was very close to winning with five match points in the fourth set with a strong performance. Olah was able to dig out his best – he saved one of the balls with his trademark – knuckle bomb.
This was also noted by Madis Moos, one of the core players of the MBF Finnish Championship winner, who lost a tight five-set match to Olah in the quarterfinals.
One can only wonder how he can drop those bombs with a perfectly clean hit time and time again when needed., said Moses.
Moosi's teammate Lassi Lehtola – who decided the Finnish Championship series victory for MBF – also performed very strongly at the tournament. Lehtola beat Estonia's number one player Pert Marten Lehtlaan to reach the quarterfinals and then defeated tough Belgian Olav Kosolovsky, who was also seeded in the semifinals, with clear scores, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8.
Lehtola also started well in the semi-final against Naum, but a weaker phase, while the reigning Finnish champion steeled himself, led to a loss in the third set from a 6-11 lead to 6-3.
On Sunday, Lehtola was comforted by winning the 19-year-old category in overwhelming fashion. A year ago, Lehtola was number one in both the 17- and 19-year-old categories.
Girlea the best woman
The women's singles was decided entirely by domestic forces. Maria Girlea was a strong pre-match favorite and withstood the pressure very well. In the final, Girlea defeated Jaimielee Enriquez 11-3, 11-4, 13-11. Before that, MBF's strong mother-daughter combination was able to prove Girlea's strength, as first Kamilla Kadar lost in the quarterfinals and then Ildiko Kadar lost in the semifinals with the winner with a score of 0-3.
However, Kamilla Kadar dominates the country's junior series and the 11-year-old promise has now claimed victory in the 15-year-old series, beating Enriquez 3-1 in the final.
In the boys' junior categories, brothers Long and Hai Nguyen won the 17- and 15-year-old divisions, beating Jimi Koivumäki in the finals. All other junior divisions were dominated by foreign guests, with traditional Stockholm club Ängby SK participating with a large group.
The new category “Pongfinity Ranking Cup” was very popular with 160 participants. Latvian Daniel Kogans took the win. Jimi Koivumäki was the best Finn, finishing sixth.
Saturday was crowned by the “Pongfinity Video Challenge”, where MBF's own Magnus Jackson was the most skilled and agile, coming in clear first place with the audience chanting “Magnus Jackson, Magnus Jackson”.
Hosted by Miikka, Emil and Oto and organized by MBF, the second Pongfinity Cup was a memorable one. A total of 260 players from 28 countries played over 1000 matches. During the weekend, in addition to playing table tennis, people had fun, made new friendships, showed great sportsmanship and had the opportunity to congratulate mothers.
Text: Thomas Hallbäck; Photos: Ildiko Kadar & Tom Kiias
